Brian: I arrived early to join the men for breakfast at the Holiday Inn. The buffet remained (from the previous day) excellent and I partook to a degree which caused my father to comment that his son was ‘eating as if this were his last meal’ (before execution). I replied that perhaps he was on target because, in a manner of speaking, ‘there was indeed a certain part of me scheduled to die this day.'

Jack and I returned to Jean’s after breakfast and found him working in the yard: clearing out the fall season’s brush while subjecting himself to a gentle yet cold rain. Some time was spent ‘checking out’ Jean’s computer in his home office and working on it for about twenty minutes. It just seems that even on my matrimonial day, I found myself irresistibly drawn to electronic devices! Alas, the tinkering was brought to closure by the reality that it was indeed time for ‘the groom’ to return to John and Margie’s in order that I might prepare for the wedding and complete two final details. First, I had to pack my suitcase and second, my rental car had to be parked at Wildwood Lodge, where Jean was standing by to ferry me to the church, not in the Cadillac lest anyone become suspicious. The humidity remained at nearly 100 percent as the hour approached and the only thing clear about the weather was that it would continue to precipitate during the remainder of the day.

Joyce: Once again, my day began early, 4:00 a.m. to be precise. The early morning hours were spent packing, cleaning up, and preparing more flowers. I finally was able to shower and managed to report to the church at about 10:30 a.m. Given the completely organized and orderly manner of the previous day’s decorating efforts, there remained one or two things to be done! I believed, finally, that I had done enough and began dressing (for the wedding) at 11:30 a.m. It’s a funny thing about a bride, the wedding wasn’t until 3:00 p.m. and yet I felt compelled to begin dressing so far in advance. Such things will always make sense to women and will forever be mysterious to men!

Brian: Pictures were taken before the wedding in such a fashion as to prevent me (referred to by many simply as ‘the groom’) from seeing the bride in her gown until the wedding. The feeling began to come over me that I was an out-of-place ornament to be moved about on a whim. The movements were, however, successful. Joy confessed later that perhaps her henchmen carried out their duty with more vigor than she had intended! The wedding went off with only one hitch and even that was planned. To the observer, it must have seemed that we enjoying the wedding too much for we were quite chatty and jocular in our behavior during the ceremony. Some of this may have been due to the smoking unity candle, which we thought might set off the smoke detector! I took special note of my cousin Lindsey when she smiled so broadly at the beginning of the ceremony; I almost found a tear in my eye, but was able to check any such silliness. The bride did look wonderful entering the sanctuary and I was pleased! As we recessed, we noticed some friends (the Baumgartner family) who had driven from Minnesota; their attendance on that most precipitative day meant much to us.

The Wedding Party

Left to right: Stephanie Stoll (cousin to Brian), Rebecca Green (friend of Joy), Brenda Cavanaugh (sister of Brian), Kristi Acree (friend of Joy), Pat Polo (friend of Joy), Joyce Linn, Brian Linn, Eldon Linn (father of Brian), Robert Stewart (friend of Brian), Jerald Cobb (brother of Joy), Edward Wollenberg (friend of Brian), Jack Spitler (friend of Brian).

Now it was on to the reception where much food would be available, especially to us, the hungry couple. Eldon Linn would ‘do his thing’ as emcee/best man. My colleagues from LLE had sent Dad a fax to be read aloud at the reception, which added some additional humor to the occasion. After some additional words of humor and wisdom, the circulating began. Between us, we attempted to spend a few minutes with every guest, whether or not we succeeded remains a mystery; however, one fact is certain, the guests were able to enjoy far more in the way of food than we! In fact, we each managed only the piece of wedding cake fed by the other. No wonder the wedding night began as it did!

When the bouquet had been tossed and the garter dealt with, Joyce declared it time to transform herself once again, this time by utilizing the ‘green dress.’ This dress had been the source of much discussion because everyone was able to have a look before the wedding, except, of course the ornament (me)! The dress lived up to all that had been verbalized, as Joyce looked exquisite and very pleasing to the eye! At just the right moment everyone congregated around the exit and showered Joyce and I with bubbles as we headed for the car. Uncle Jean pulled up the Cadillac at precisely the correct moment to ensure us a safe haven from the still present rain droplets. The limited sharing (read: extremely secretive sharing) of wedding night lodging arrangements and newlywed transportation did indeed result in no pranks being pulled!

Joyce: Upon arrival at the Wildwood Lodge we registered, brought up the luggage and settled in. The room was quite nice and came complete with a whirlpool and music system. The honeymoon began with a prayer and then … dinner! Well, dinner was in the style akin to an indoor picnic and supplied by a lunch box packed by one of the bridesmaids. Finally, after waiting all day, we were able to partake of some nourishment. The picnic just wasn’t enough, however, and we headed out to find dinner around 10:00 p.m. As the night progressed, each feature of the rustic décor room was to be utilized, and enjoyed thoroughly.